Cards, Flowers, and You
by Pokemon Ranger-Trainer
Summary: Carla has never had a Valentine. Can a certain blue cat cure her of her frustration?


**I don't own Fairy Tail. I've become obsessed again. So, I've decided to take advantage of the upcoming Valentine's Day. I've decided that this one will be in Carla's point of view, just after the events of my multi-chapter Happy/Carla story, 'By Your Side'. Enjoy!**

_Carla's POV…_

The city of Magnolia was lucky I liked pink, because the streets and buildings were covered with the color. Wendy and I walked the streets of Magnolia, surrounded by flowers and greeting cards. That was how I viewed Valentine's Day. Of course, there was always the chance that my opinion changed. Recently, my heart had been…touched. It had been about a week, maybe a week and a half since Happy and I woke up in Porlyusica's house, injured and sore. In spite of that, we danced with our wings under the starry sky. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I'd fall for that silly tomcat. He amazed me with his sweetness. He had my heart.

"Carla, are you going to ask Happy to be your Valentine?" Wendy asked curiously. Ooh, the nerve!

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I blushed, avoiding eye-contact. In truth, I still didn't feel the need to celebrate Valentine's Day. Please do not get me wrong. I deeply cared about Happy. It just didn't seem like any romance with him would feel special because everyone else would do the exact same thing.

"Aw, c'mon!" Wendy crouched down so she could make eye contact with me. "You know you want to. I bet you were practicing on Mini Happy." Mini Happy, a stuffed doll in Happy's likeness, was my personal treasure and favorite possession. I took him everywhere. Not only was he the image of my beloved, but he was a gift from my mother as well.

I held Mini Happy in my arms, burying my nose in his plush, blue body. I felt bad. I referred to Happy as my beloved, and yet, when we first met, I refused to call him by his name. The first time I did was when he gave me hope in a time of betrayal and despair. I was so mean to him. He had continued being nice to me in spite of all the things I had said to him. It was not fair to Happy. At times, he came off a little strong, but he would always offer me a fish. It had not occurred to me how difficult that was for him. He loved fish. I had half a mind to believe he'd ask a fish to be his Valentine.

"And you said that I was too old to be playing with dolls," Wendy smirked. I felt my face heat up.

"Oh, hush! I'm six," I reminded her in a defiant tone. I didn't need to look at her to know that she was smiling. "Besides, in my opinion, the only ones who prosper on today of all days are the ones selling the flowers and candy. People spend copious amounts of money to impress their significant other in unoriginal ways, while the lonely only feel lonelier."

"It all makes sense now," Wendy suddenly hugged me, which caught me off guard. "I guess you're right about that much, but I think the reason you feel that way is because you've never had someone to share Valentine's Day with before."

"I've had you all my life. I don't know what you're talking about," I denied. Deep inside, I knew she was right. Even when I had zero interest in males, it always had saddened me to watch people exchange Valentines as I sat aside. It made me feel isolated. Just thinking about it made me somewhat somber.

"C'mon. We'd better get an early start before all of the good jobs are taken," Wendy suggested. With that, I whisked her away to Fairy Tail, utilizing my wings.

When we finally arrived, I saw my silly tomcat handing out heart-shaped cards to all of our guild mates. They looked a tad choppy, so I was assuming he made them by paw. Craftsmanship aside, the gesture was sweet. Happy darted over to us. He greeted Wendy first. "Hi, Wendy! Happy Valentine's Day!" He gave Wendy one of his heart-shaped cards. "Hi, Carla!" He kissed me on the cheek and ran off. He did not even give me a card. The nerve! What caught my attention more than that was that he was wearing a bandage around his right paw. I knew that he had been morbidly injured protecting me, but I was unaware of any paw injuries.

"He…" I fought back tears. "He didn't even make a card for me…" I thought he cared. Had I been wrong? I looked around. Even my mother, Shagotte, had been given a card. My mother!

"Oh, Carla…" Wendy gave me a hug. "He'd never forget you. I'm sure he just has something special in mind for you."

"Well, it better be worth it!" I pouted. I was being a brat. I was aware of it. I wasn't proud of it. Could I help it? Not really. I felt ignored. Then again, that must have been how I made Happy feel. Over and over and over again. I was such a horrid cat!

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mama!" Happy said to his mother, Marl, and gave her a heart-shaped card. He even put glitter on it.

"Aw! Thank you, sweetheart," Miss Marl gave Happy a kiss on his forehead.

"You're welcome, Mama! Oh, Cana!" Happy flew over to Cana Alberona, the heaviest drinker in Fairy Tail. Happy gave her a card, only instead of being shaped like a heart; it looked more like one of the barrels that she was always drinking out of. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Thanks, Happy!" Cana graciously thanked him after setting her barrel aside. She held out her hand, saying, "Give me five, dude!"

"Aye!" Happy gave Cana a high-five. I looked away from him for a moment. Everyone had a card, even Fairy Tail's newest Exceed, Ester. Gajeel had found a bunch of Exceeds to partner with Levy, even though she wasn't a Dragon Slayer. Ester was as much of a bookworm as she was a cat. She was perfect for Levy.

"And last, but never the least—" Happy flew over to me.

"You know I've been here! Why have you left me here waiting, wondering if you had forgotten about me?!" I snapped. He suddenly wore an expression of sadness on his adorable face. Oops.

"I'm sorry, Carla. I didn't mean to leave you in the dark," he said apologetically. "You probably hate me now."

"No, no, no, Happy, I could never hate you!" I exclaimed in panic, wrapping my arms around him.

"Didn't you use to?" Natsu asked in recollection. Others murmured in agreement.

"Don't spare my feelings, Carla. Give me the cold, hard truth," Happy insisted. He actually believed that I despised him just because I was at a loss of patience.

"…Fine," I complied. "You want the truth? I have never had a significant other to share Valentine's Day with. I suppose my feelings just needed to be free and in the air. Happy, you are the kindest, most compassionate cat I have ever met. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did back then, nor should I have taken my frustration out on you. I've been so horrible. That's why I'd like you to hit me as hard as you can."

"Carla…" Happy gasped. He could not believe that I wanted him to hit me.

"Beat all that is sacred out of me," I insisted. "I deserve it." I braced myself, expecting to be hit with fish and watermelons.

"…And you thought I was the silly one," Happy laughed. "I could never hit you. I care too much about you. That stuff's always been water under the bridge. You're my strength, Carla."

"But…I thought," I spoke slowly, trying to comprehend the situation. "You told me that true strength came from the heart."

"You hold a very special place in mine," Happy informed me.

My eyes widened. Tears formed. I had to change the subject before I broke down into tears. I asked, "Why do you have bandages on your paw?"

"Ah, that. You see, that's where your Valentine comes in," Happy smiled.

"My Valentine…?" I echoed.

"Aye!" his smile widened as he handed me a box.

"Let me guess," I said carefully as I accepted the box. "Fish?"

"Nuh-uh," Happy shook his head.

"Candy?"

"Nope."

"Candied fish?"

"You're making me hungry, but no."

At last, I opened the box. Inside was a little cat-shaped wooden figurine. I realized, after studying the anthropomorphic feline shape, that it was an intricate carving of me. I asked, "Where did you get this?"

"I whittled it," Happy informed me. He took the bandages off, revealing a cut. "The knife slipped, so I had to put on bandages."

"The hammock still feels like wood shavings," I heard Natsu mutter.

"He carved it in bed?" I heard Lucy ask him.

"Yep," Natsu replied.

"So, he was in your bed…with a knife," Lucy came to the conclusion.

"Yeah," Natsu nodded.

"Carla?" Happy called my name, regaining my attention. He looked me in the eyes and asked, "Will you be my Valentine?"

I couldn't help but smile. Happy made me happy. Hence his name, I supposed. I gave him a tight hug, exclaiming, "Yes! By all means, yes!"

"Huh? What? A wedding?" Master Makarov woke up from a nap and started throwing rice. Everyone else remained silent as we awkwardly watched our guild master throw rice everywhere.


End file.
